20090422

Block Paintings in Progress

The Block Paintings are a new category started this year. These pictured are the latest in progress. I'm doing these a bit differently than previous ones. Instead of painting the panel and canvas separately and then joining them, I've done it in reverse. The aim here is a freer, painterly, more spontaneous look to the finished pieces, even if the process isn't exactly spontaneous.

I used acrylic gel medium and varnish to attach the canvases to the panels. Next I applied black acrylic made by mixing pthalo green and crimson. I prefer mixing my own black in most instances, a throw-back to my art school days when we had to make our own. Custom-made black (for lack of a better term) has a richer appearance and isn't as flat-looking at straight-from-the-tube black. Sometimes I want that flat, manufactured black but not this time.

This group as described in my Artist Statement:"THE BLOCK PAINTINGS are composed from small monochrome paintings attached to larger painted panels with cradled sides. As three-dimensional works, the Block Paintings are rather like sculptures- blocks of lush, vibrant hues."

I've just started applying a wash to the canvases. The colors will look very different when they're done. I almost always start with highly saturated washes.

The next step is to build up color layers on the canvases, letting some drips form. Well, that's the plan anyway. We'll see where it goes.